"Come on, Lyric. We're at our stop." Gerard said, tugging me on the arm until I stood up and followed him off the train.

My eyes slowly opened when I realised he'd put his arm around me to prevent any sleepy stumbling that might occur while I was only half awake.

Gerard?" I mumbled to make sure he was really there and I wasn't still in my dream land where everything was perfect.

"Yeah I'm here. We're gonna head back to my apartment now so try and wake up. I don't want you falling over whole we're walking." He told me and I struggled to erase the sleep from my eyes but with some effort I managed to do it.

We walked up the subway steps and onto the street where tons more people were walking around than earlier.

It was hard for me to believe that to them we'd be just another set of average people. Not a runaway rockstar and a girl who the mafia want dead.

What if other people walking around had a whole story behind them as well.
The guy walking down the street isn't really a businessman on his way to work but it actually a super spy sent to destroy a bomb that'd blow up the Empire State Building.

"What are you thinking about." Gerard asked me as we walked back to his apartment with his arm still around me.

I was awake enough to walk without worrying about falling over but I didn't want him to take his arm away.

"Secret spies." I said, adjusting the my bags strap around my shoulder and yawning a little bit.

I can't wait to head to Starbucks and get something to drink.
I really wanted some coffee right now because no matter how good it was having one this morning I still needed to get some more caffeine.

Should I feel guilty for wanting to eat at another coffee shop when I worked at a cafe or was it alright?
Meh, I don't really care. If I avoid having coffee any longer I'll be getting withdrawals which I don't want because I usually get a headache from it.

"So that was exciting huh?" I got the feeling he was talking about the thugs breaking into the apartment while we escaped, it wasn't fun or exciting.

Nerve-wracking, terrifying, fear inducing, yes, yes and yes but at no point would I say it was exciting.

"I don't think I can handle any more excitement." I told him, I wasn't lying, I just wanted to go back home and stay there, but I can't now.

The only place I could go is back to Australia but I can't leave my auntie, what if she gets hurt?
It'll be all my fault and no one else's.
Then there's Gerard, I don't want to leave him here either and it was for selfish reasons.
The butterflies in my stomach, the thumping of my heart, my mind blanking out what I was going to say when I saw his rare, truly happy smile
"Well I have a feeling there'll be a lot more coming at us. They had your address didn't they?" I nodded, it was all my fault too because I dropped my fricken purse.

We walked in silence for a while until we reached his building he opened the door for me.

"Look, maybe this will all go away after a while. You can stay at my place until it blows over then you can just go back to your aunts."

Stay with Gerard?
That couldn't be a good idea, especially with the predicament I'm in, he could get hurt or worse and it was my fault he was in this mess anyway.

But on the other hand maybe I could help him out, make him talk to his brother and the band.
Go back to the album and sort everything out, the first thing would be by letting everyone know he was safe.
On top of it all I didn't want him to be depressed anymore, he deserved to be happy again.

"Alright." I mumbled as we got into the elevator and he pushed the button for the right floor.

"My art room has a foldout couch so you can sleep there." I didn't know that Gerard had an art room but then again he had made a comic book and was known for some art he'd made.

"Do you use your art room much?" I asked and we got out of the elevator and stepped into the long hallway.

The mural on my back reminded me that I had yet to finish it. I didn't think I'll ever be able to now, especially when Gerard's around, it'd be awkward, painting a mural based around the songs he sings.
Maybe I should just decorate the mask I have, yeah I think sticking with that would be a better idea.

"Yeah, sometimes I'll just go in there and draw for a couple of hours. Don't be surprised if you wake up and I'm in there drawing." I wouldn't care really, most of the time I have to be awake for ten minutes before anything really sinks in to my brain.

"How am I going to explain this to my aunt?" I was usually a very creative liar but my mind was completely blank.

"I've got a couple of ideas." He started telling me them as we walked to his apartment door and we both agreed on a plan.

So far it was going to be a lie about me going to a surprise art camp Mum had signed for, it'd explain why I wouldn't be coming back for a while.
I could call my mum tell her that my aunt was the one who agreed to send me to the art camp and my problem is solved.

Although I did still have the issue of knowing my Mum would call the school to check, she'd always do something like that.
Gerard and I put my things on the couch and he went over to the phone, suggesting I get the lie over and done with now.

I walked over to the phone he held out to me and after a moment of imagining the shit I'd get into if my aunt or mother found out I took it from him and dialled my aunts mobile number.

"Hello?" Her voice said on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Matilda. It's me, Lyric." I told her and there's was deafening silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

"Where have you been?" Her voice was like icicles but I knew it was because she'd been worried for me.

"The school had a surprise art trip, it's like a camp. You know how art schools work." This lie sounded much smarter before I started telling it to her, now it was ridicules.

"What?" She was detecting the bullshit.

"Last night I went to Dayna's house but I fell asleep there so I went to school with her morning. Then there was this surprise art camp the school decided to take us to. I'm calling you through one of the teachers phones." This is the worst lie I have ever told in my whole life and she's gonna see through it for sure.

"Can I talk to the teacher please?" Oh crap I hadn't counted on her asking something like that.

"Uh." I had no idea what I was supposed to say, I'm so fucking screwed right now.

Gerard took the phone from me and held it his ear before waiting for a moment and speaking.

"Hello this is Mr. Way, Lyric's art teacher." I almost started snort laughing, he was too young to be my art teacher and he didn't sound teachery besides it was stupid hearing him refer to himself as Mister Way.

I stood close to him to hear her speech because I really wanted to see how he'd lie his way out of this.

"What gives you the right to think you can just take a student without informing their caretaker?!" She was yelling and I actually felt surprised, she'd never yelled before.

"I'm sorry miss but we were given permission by her parent. I spoke to her over the phone." Gerard was sounding disturbingly serious and it made me want to laugh even more.

"Well I guess if you were given permission...but I want to be informed the next time the school pulls a trick like that. Now hand the phone back to my niece so I can say goodbye." Gerard immediately gave me the phone and said goodbye to my aunt before she hung up.

"Now to lie to my Mum." I sighed before dialling her number and going through nearly the same process as I did with my aunt except I got the feeling she knew something was up.

Mum was the only person I've ever been unable to lie to, well I can lie it's just that she can easily tell when I'm changing the truth a little.
The only thing that made her think I was telling the truth was Gerard coming in as a fake teacher and telling her I was a good student and all that stuff.

Then to wrap it all up Mum mentioned coming to America to visit me in the next month or two for my upcoming birthday which wouldn't turn out good if I was still staying at Gerard's place.

I couldn't just imagine what Mum would do if it turned out I was staying at the runaway rockstars place because the mafia or whatever wanted me dead.

This is nothing like I thought it'd be, leaving in America.
I thought I'd probably make some friends, get good grades and maybe get a job.
What's actually happened, it wasn't even a possibility two months ago.

Once I said see-ya to my Mum and promised I'd call her soon I hung up and practically dropped my face onto the bench.
So many lies were going on and they weren't little white lies like I'd usually come up with, these were life changing lies.

"You wanna get some Starbucks now?" He asked and I lifted my head from the bench to look at him, I know he really liked his coffee but I was having an internal crisis right now.

"Ugh, fine." I grumbled and slowly shuffled over to the door with him following me.

I needed Dayna, I wanted to whine to her about how much shit was going on in my life right now but I couldn't because I can't tell her about Gerard or the mafia.

I just wanna kill the mafia for fucking up my life royally, yes I will admit that the situation had probably brought me closer to Gerard but I'd rather go into my house without it being trashed or worrying about my own safety.

"Lets go." I said, trying to sound somewhat perky as Gerard opened the door for me and we left the apartment.

~~~

Gerard and I sat down on a couch at the Starbucks that according to him made the best coffee he'd ever had.
The coffee here was good and I'll admit that but I was kinda insulted he didn't like the coffee I made.

"What about my coffee?" I asked, taking a sip from the cup sitting on the table in front of me then sitting back on the couch.

"The one you make is really good." He told me and I grinned even if it was only because I brought it up it was nice compliment and made me happy even though I'd been complaining nonstop internally for the past half hour.

"I was thinking about how you suggested I call Mikey." Please don't tell me that he's going back on what he agreed to.

"The memorial ceremony for our parents is coming up." He mumbled and I felt like crap on his behalf even though he was looking upset enough as it was.
I put my hand on his arm, trying to comfort him without it seeming like I was trying to hit on him.

"I'll be going." Good, then he'll finally talk to Mikey and his friends, just like he needs to.

Gerard seems to think that he can avoid his problems and they'll go away things don't work like that and he needs to face his problems headfirst even if it hurts.
No matter what life throws at me I've always managed to look past the worst even if I sometimes have a habit on dwelling on things for longer than necessary.

"On one condition though." He added and I sighed, I'm probably gonna have to talk him into it one way or another.

"If you go with me." He looked at me and I had to resist shaking my head.

"Gerard, I can't do that. It's a family and friends kind of thing and I didn't even know your parents. It's not right, I can't do it." I did really start shaking my head this time, I couldn't go, it wasn't my place.

"You're my friend and if my parents got to meet you they definitely would have liked you. Please come with me, you won't even have to talk to anyone." I didn't want to go no matter how much he wants me to, I'm not someone who belongs there.

But there's when the look on his face got to me and the words caught in my throat.
If I said no I'd feel like was kicking a puppy, I couldn't do that to him especially after what he'd done for me.

"Alright but you have to promise you'll talk to the guys." I knew that the band would definitely be there, after all Ray Frank and Bob have known Gerard and Mikey for a long time so they'd know their parents.

"I will, thank you." He gave me a smile and put his head on my shoulder, causing my stomach to be filled with butterflies.

If I was going to the memorial with him I knew I'd see the band and it scared me and made me imagine how awkward it would be.
It wasn't the fact I was a fan (even though I was) it was because I'd lied straight to Mikey's face when he came into the coffee shop searching for Gerard.

There was a chance, whether small or large, that he'd recognise me and it would be very uncomfortable if he did and if it's not Mikey it could be any of the other guys.
Maybe I could dye my hair then they wouldn't recognise me.
No brain, that wouldn't work.

Speaking of hair colours though.

"Gerard, why is your hair white?" I asked, ruffling his very short hair and causing him to adjust his head on my shoulder.

"It was supposed to be for the album." I wonder what short white hair would have to do with their new album.

"What's it supposed to mean?" I'll admit when I first realised it was Gerard with the short white hair I was slightly horrified.

The shoulder length black hair was something he was his known for and it was a drastic change that he'd made.
I liked it now though, I just needed to get used to the surprise.

"I can't tell you." Of course he couldn't, the band probably had this whole agreement about not saying anything when it comes to the album before it's released.

"Have you ever gotten your hair bleached? It fuckin' burns." I grinned, yeah I had but I'd gotten used to it after a couple of times.

"I thought my head was on fire." I said and laughed a bit, it was scary the first time you got it bleached.

"I can't imagine you with any hair colour other than green." I agreed with him, I'd had this colour for long enough that I forgot it wasn't green naturally.

"What made you change it from normal?" I don't actually remember, I've been dying it for that long, I'm lucky my hair hasn't fallen out.

"I don't not know, the pretty colours perhaps." I shrugged, knowing my way around my own brain that was the most likely situation.

"Or maybe it's because I'll change it with whatever my life feels like at the time." I added, I'm not sure if that's what got me started but it's how it works now.

"What was you life like when you dyed it green?" He removed his head from my shoulder so he could start drinking his coffee again.
Now the butterflies were gone.

"It's a long story." It was also one he didn't need to know because if it could make me feel depressed then it would make him feel suicidal which he didn't need to hear.
I didn't even talk to my counceller about it for the brief month I'd had one, I wasn't a talk to people about my problems person.
"Excuse me can I get a pot of coffee please?" He was talking to the waitress who immediately disappeared and turned back to me.

"So what's the long story?"
Oh wouldn't he just love to know.